Maximising Shoe Sales in 2022

Foremost Golf Business Development Consultant, Charles Hartley, has six different areas to examine that will really improve your footwear sales over the upcoming season.

Intelligent Buying and Replenishment
Make use of your historical till data when buying to identify volume, key sizes and colours. This will give you the very best chance to maximise sales. All Foremost Golf members have opportunities to stock exclusive lines in this category. Plan these in your prebooks to maximise margin. The timing of your deliveries is also very important. For example, some retailers may prefer to receive a 36-pair prebook in one delivery, others may split that into three delivery drops of 12 pairs. Keep an eye on your stock levels and replenish key sizes on those hot selling shoes. If you have shoes approaching the end of their product cycle and you cannot replenish the line apply an incentive to encourage sell through. Let’s really aim to raise your shoe stock turn in 2022.

Space and Location
How much space you dedicate to your shoe department should be a fair representation of the contribution shoes make to your business. It’s a flexible space which should change according to stock levels and the time of the season. There are various ways to display your shoe ranges so find the one that works best for you. If lack of space is an issue and the shoe boxes must be on the floor, make sure they’re organised and add a maintenance task to your daily floor walk. Keep the boxes in model and size order, this really does make it easier for your customer to see the available sizes.

High margin and exclusive shoe models to help drive profitability

Knowledge and Training
It’s imperative that you learn the key/unique selling points on all your current stock. Knowing the differences could be crucial to the sale. If a customer asks, “why is this pair £100 but these similar looking shoes are £200?,” you and the team need to know the answer. Gain education from your suppliers, encourage staff to attend training sessions and make sure your pass on the knowledge you received at your buying meetings. Remember, your point of sale and clear ticketing will not only help the customer but your staff as well. Make sure you have two very simple key selling points on each shoe ticket.

Multi-Platform Marketing
Use co-ordinated multi-platform marketing on all product launches, product features or special offers. Think of ways of stimulating engagement on your posts. For example, on a product launch, ask your audience to rate the new shoes that have just landed. PGA Professionals utilising the EMP Premium Marketing Programme get huge assistance on this front. A team of Marketing Editors build and execute marketing plans for all EMP Premium members. They do this with an array of instore and digital personalised marketing tools that maximises the exposure of important shoe updates.

Important Questions
Asking the right questions when the customer is in front of you is the key to an efficient sale. What size, colour and budget will filter down your available options instore quickly, try and build on this by asking questions around frequency of use, location of use and their usual fit. Listening to the customers’ needs, showing empathy on their previous challenges with shoes, and positioning yourself as an expert in this field will add massive value to the customer experience.

Linked Purchase Opportunities
There is no doubt that there is plenty of linked purchases when a customer buys a new pair of shoes: socks, shoe bags and care kits are a great way to raise the basket price. These types of accessories are also a fantastic tool in defence of price matching or discounting. For example, saying something like, “I can’t take £10 off that price, but I can offer you a free shoe care kit.” This also encourages the customer to look after their shoes and hopefully results in less returns. Accessories, like these, are great for accelerating sell-through too. A gift-with-purchase-style campaign is often very well received in the shoe category. GR